30 Nov 2009

Woohoo Im jumping up and down in excitement.
Me ole mucker Reg Jones is having one of his short stories put into print, at the House of Horror.
It's called the Ides of March and below is what they said...............


Thank you for submitting The Ides of March, and I am glad to say we will be publishing this piece for Issue 9 at House of Horror. A great story, love the vampire twist and you pulled it off nicely. The ending was really good, I loved this one. Good job! Welcome to House of Horror.

You've done it Reg, you're on the ladder. Great news.
Go to his web site http://www.divisionofthedamned.com and take a peek at all his other spooky writings.

20 Nov 2009

Well this reviewing books malarky is very time consuming and I find myself neglecting other sites I look at etc. However at last look I had gone up higher in the ranking so thats alright.


My ole mate Reg and his extended family have had some sad news of late. Hopefully the situation will ease a bit as time goes on.



I'm now on leave for two weeks from my volunteering jobbie and I intend to finally get around to my wallpapering and painting of the dining room. I bought the paper two weeks ago and that is as far as it got. So watch this space.

Onward and upward as lunch is calling me.

13 Nov 2009

So then.............. I've been asked to put a few more reviews up. Not cherry picked sometimes good and sometimes critical. I've copied and pasted so if there are any duplicates ... soz.


Hi Teresa,I like this, it seems to be a fun and 'cheeky' story that is written well. You are sure ta capture the imagination of your target audience and I look forward to reading more. Shelved for now though.Good luck,
James (The Lycetta Legacy)


Steve Ward
Teresa,You have some great writing here, very fast paced narrative, but pheeew, it took nine chapters to get Erasmus and Shasta together with almost no action or dialogue. The opening is quite gripping, but it is very difficult to hod readers even one or two chapters without dialogue. Much of that narrative and indirect dialogue (he told them this, she told them that) could be converted to direct dialogue to make the story come alive. Also there needs to be some conflict, action or trouble along the way to help develop each character. All good stories thrive on conflict. Just suggestions from an old editor, feel fee to ignore, it is your story. Fun read, good luck with it.
Steve WardTest Pilot's Daughter: Revenge

soutexmex
Went through the first couple of chapters. What a terrific read and the pitches sealed the deal. SHELVED!I could use your comments on my book when you get the chance. Cheers!
JC The Obergemau Key


Simon Swift
Great pitch! Pulls you right in and doesnt let go! Happy to shelve and read more at my leisure! Good luck with this!
Simon x


C.P.
You do set up the story well. I slipped into it. Stopped looking for nits or way it could be improved and just read. What a time to live in. Carefully line to walk. Very nice. Good luck and on my shelf. C.P

paxie
Teresa
Chapter one I'd delete 'around her stomach' .....I could picture her in my minds eye without you saying that.... Chapter Two When you said.....Even Eramus sisters felt sorry for him....I quickly thought.....Of course they would, why wouldn't they be feeling the same, they lost the same father ? Lovely read, a nice balance of intrigue, fantasy and romance.....My 16 year old would love this. backed.

Phyllis Burton
Hello Teresa,I have read all that you have updated on the site and to be honest with you, I was disappointed not to be able to read more. This is a marvelously ingenious plot: time travel, two people (time apart) born on the 31st October etc. you have a recipe for a superb story. Your characters are real and the dialogue moves the story on. Young adults would love this and that is why I am SHELVING it, because with just a little fine tuning here and there, you have material that should get published. You said that it was set in Cornwall - my favourite place. I spend about three months of the year there (going down on Tuesday for a week).
Phyllis BurtonA Passing Storm
(I would appreciate it if you would have a look at mine please)


Freeman
At the start of chapter 4 you have some huge paragraphs. I would suggest you try to split them to make it an easier read especially since this is for YA readers. The plot with magic and telepathy and time travel seems to have it all. It will keep your readers enthralled. Apart from the huge paragraphs I think this is well done and should be popular. I will back your book with pleasure.
TonyLife Bringer


Adrian.A.Moore
My youngest son was born on 31st October, a Halloween child. It was for him I made up my stories in my books. I’m not sure if it’s good to use ‘etc’ in such a book.This is quite nice to read and the pace is just right for the YA market. I think you could add some narrative to the first few chapters to break up the story telling. It is well written and I didn’t notice any errors in the four chapters I read. I think the gradual build up of his powers is good and more realistic than just getting them on a single day. I am happy to back your book. Adrian


Cato Sulla
I won't pick you up on your grammar, I'll leave that to others far more qualified to do so. Just one little thing that irked me a bit was the first two mammoth paragraphs in chapter one, bust them up! OK, that's the nit pick out of the way, now for the praise and yes there is plenty.
Your main character Erasmus, great name by the way, it's so important to name your characters well. He is a strong and integral part of the book and your portrayal of him is superb. I can close my eyes and see his black gaze (an amulet called the 'nazar boncugu' is still worn in countries in the middle east such as Turkey to ward off those that possess the 'evil eye') very well done I must say.We have only seen a little of Shasta's character but already I think she will be more than a match for Erasmus.All in all three excellent chapters. Needs a bit of tightening but then again so does just about every book on this site, mine included!
Backed again with pleasure.
Bob x


Jane Alexander
Teresa, this has a wonderfully elemental feel to it - I could almost feel the sea crashing against the shore -and you have picked my favourite coastline for this tale. I think the story could be even stronger though with a little work. You often invert sentences which slows down the read so maybe think about that - for eg, change to 'There had been constant movement.....'Just a little nitpick - people are hanged, meat is hung. Sorry, one of my pet niggles.There is a lot of backstory in the first chapter and I wonder if maybe we could find out about Erasmus' growing up as we move on through the book. It's interesting but again, it slows down the read. Check POV too - are you going to switch between Erasmus and Shasta? That would make sense.....Oh, and going back, when Erasmus makes the two girls levitate....wouldn't that be a very dangerous thing to do? Might they not report him and he'd be accused of withcraft, like his aunt?Sorry, that sounds like a lot of niggles, but really it's only because I do think this could be even better.I'm going to back this for great imagination and promise.
JaneWALKER
So how is Erasmus bearing up on Authonomy? I have to say very well and he seems to like it. Every so often he turns from his picture on the wall of my computer room and smiles at me :-) This is the book cover of course. The Eye of Erasmus now stands at 986 in the ranking system. This has occured over the last couple of weeks since I went live. Considering I started out at "multi thousands" I'm very pleased with his progress.
"Storming it" as a colleague on http://struglingauthors.co.uk/ was heard to say.
In the young adult genre where I am pitched there are 860 books. This is 20 books to a page and I'm on page 4...........at the moment. Overall in all genres there are probably hundreds of thousands including one written by the American President (Shock horror !!!!Yes he's there to) So i'm in good company depending on your point of view.
So how does Authonomy work and should it be compared to vanity press? Nah is my honest opinion.

The idea is two fold.............

(1) you can take a stroll though the shelves of many books (think of a public library) and comment if you feel like it. Good or bad comments it's your choice. It may be you're particular type of book and you enjoyed it. You may read a page and consider it's not your sort of thing.

(2) you as a writer are hell bent on getting to the editors desk which is the difference between being published or not. This is my aim. Oh really? yes really.
So how do you get there? sheer bloody hard work is how. Mostly you have to get known. This can be done through the forum a "chatter board" that seems to have many annoying gliches. Here is where you can do a "shameless plug" of your writing. I did this and was quite successful with other writers wanting to read about my lovely friend Erasmus.

However - other writers can be brutally honest and critical about your little one. You just have to take it on the chin and move on. Sometimes they are quite right. We always think we have honed our work to perfection and someone spies glaring mistakes that you missed. Whether it is spelling or otherwise. Of course this is only one persons opinion and you don't have to change anything, unless of course 10 people in a row tell you the same thing. Then of course you need to consider the move or not.

So apart from sheer bloody hard work how did I manage to push myself up the rankings?
Good feedback from other writers helped, and the aim is to get on as many other writers shelves as possible. There is a massive flurry at first when new blood is suddenly noted but after a while it calms down a bit.
The other thing is swap reads. You need to approach another writer, if you like their work and see if they will swap a read of yours for theirs. This can work to your advantage and we live in hopes of getting good feeback. Do we reciprocate by given them magnificent reviews? Well if it's deserved yes we (I) do. However it isn't compulsary and some comments I've read about other books have been brutally honest with no holds barred. Again you have to take it on the chin, afterall it's only one persons view point.
Daily I need to review about 5 books to stay in the frame and push up my rankings. It's not easy when you've been at work all day and then come home to book reading. It all depends on how determined you are to get to the editors desk, --- and I intend to get there one way or another (as the song goes).
Some of my reviews of Erasmus have been critical but overall i'm pleased. Would I recommend Authonomy?
Yeah suck it and see. If you don't feel comfortable with it after a few weeks just delete your book from the system.
Actually I decided to update mine and through my own fault I lost all my book shelving and watchlistings. Fortunately I retained my ranking in the system memory. Was I gutted? too right I was but I got back on the horse and rode back into the sunset again.
Once again I'm storming up the trail to review more books.
Oh and by the way don't forget to take a look at Reg's and Richards websites.

Reg: http://divisionofthedamned/ (Book Title)
Richard: http://strugglingauthors.co.uk/

6 Nov 2009

Well below are some of the lovely comments I received from fellow writers on the Authonomy site. Warts an all !!

Including a lovely message from me ole mucker Reg.

The "backings"/ "Shelvings" received have pushed me up the ratings.

Since going live 31st October and ranked at 6000+ I have now moved to 1319. Luvely jubbley.



REVIEWS OF the Eye of Erasmus
Doug Bremner

I agree with other commenters that this is potentially powerful stuff with the air of myth making about it. However the initial paragraphs are dense and you need something good to pull the reader in in the first pages. I would consider show not tell in this space and the most compelling image is of the sister being dragged out to be hanged as a witch. Maybe showing this as an event with dialogue etc. Backed for potential. Doug, The Goose.

CamilleS
A very enjoyable read! I'm looking forward to reading more. Backing!

CamilleThe Hobble Knobble Gobble Tree

Onthedottedline
Apart from the very long and sometimes turgid paragraphs, this is a good read, and will interest fantascists everywhere. Good luck with it. Backed. Best wishes, Tony.

DMC
Teresa This is so enchanting - what fun!You have a grand adventure here, full of exuberance, magic and prophecy. Ha-ha! A time travelling lover with attitude has to go a long way.Shelved with my best wishes

DavidGreen Ore

mikegilli
An eternally repeating story...WOW...shelved forever or..Erasmus and Shasta are super attractive charactersand this flies along...Excellent.Suggestion.Ch 1 is has a lot of explaining. You could possibly do a clip flashbackof her sisters death, also maybe leave some of it to emergelater?Lots of fun with it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Mikey The Free

Pia

Dear Teresa,I was attracted by the cover and the Title.What you got up here reads like a fairytale, quite lovely.Ocasionally a little space between scenes would help orientation.I'll drop in to see if there's more to come.Best LuckPia (Course of Mirrors)


Urania (A published author many times over)

Theresa, a subject after my own heart! I love the pitch, the title, the premise. And the writing to boot. I'm not usually fond of books that set the scene and tell the history of someone's life before getting to the action, but this works. However, it may be that you need to bring it to life sooner and thread the back-story through the action., or bring some of the growing up elements to life. Anyway, love the whole feel of this tale, mythical, yet enough flesh and bones to make it real. And to me, myth is reality. My only other suggestion would be to break up some of those rather lengthy paras (particularly in Chapter two). Great read, and shelved with pleasure.

Sandie Newman
Excellent, cover, title and pitch. I loved the opening, very descriptive and tells us what we need to know. I thought it so sad that her sister was accused of witchcraft, dragged out of bed and hanged, terrible. Excellent writing in a genre that I like very much. Shelved with pleasure.SandieThe Crown of Crysaldor



Bill Cheall
Good story Theresa - good luck with it! Paul





Illusion
This is interesting. I have put this on my watchlist. It will be good to read more of this :)


Matt Walker
This has an interesting premise. There is certainly an 'other wordly' feel about all of this which adds to the intrigue. Overall your writing is good, but just watch how many adverbs creep in. I liked it, well done!


Great work Teresa, you must be one of those lucky people who didn't lose their imagination at puberty. I'll keep an eye out for it when it, (undoubtedly) gets published.Good luck, it's on my Watchlist to show my support.

Reg.

maryinflorida
Teresa, There’s a long tradition of using Christian history as underlying themes for fantasy stories aimed at young people.

CS Lewis and “The Chronicles of Narnia” come to mind as a prime example. So you’re certainly in good company with this venture. I’ll move this to my bookshelf
Mary



So there you have it. My little baby has flown the coup and is winging its' way to victory.

1 Nov 2009

Well i'm finally on http://www.authonomy.com/ it took forever to upload it and impatient me got very frustrated. I've noticed a couple of typos since I put it up, but have I got the neck to take it down to do corrections.

Mostly my feedback has been very positive and I'm on a few of the other writers bookshelves. One of the talent spotters has now told me that he is "shelving" The Eye of Erasmus. I'm guessing that means it goes on his bookshelf. I'm going to have a look in a minute to see. As I joined the site and went live with Erasmus I was bombarded by other authors. Would I do a read swap with them? This as I understand it not only pushes their ratings up the book chart but mine also. I was origionally 4000+ in the ratings I then went to 1987. I still haven't worked out if that is good or not as it could change tomorrow.

Everyone is working towards getting noticed by the "editors desk" as this is where your work is read by our fate holders. All my fingers and digits are crossed for luck.